Occupant propelled wheelchairs typically require that the occupant of the chair grasp a portion of a rim adjacent a wheel thereof and propel the wheelchair by moving one's hand through an arc of a circle immediately adjacent the wheel of the chair.
Some wheelchair occupants, however, cannot easily perform this movement due to limitations in their own range of motion and typically, therefore must resort to propelling a wheelchair by other means, such as via battery power.
Certain earlier patents held by the present Patentee, having recognized this deficiency, teach alternative mechanisms to accommodate a wheelchair occupant to self-propel the wheelchair using a different range of motion. The following patents reflect Patentee's prior activities:
PATENT NO.ISSUE DATEINVENTOR5,263,729Nov. 23, 1993Watwood et al.6,007,082Dec. 28, 1999Watwood et al.